1976 move null and void: Adenan
Published on: Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Kuching: Putrajaya must consider Sarawak to be equal to the Malayan Federation and not just one of the country's 14 states and territories, said Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem."Under the original (Federal) Constitution, it was stated that the Federation of Malaysia consisted of all states of Malaya, the Borneo states of Sarawak and Sabah, and the state of Singapore."After the amendment was made in 1976, Sarawak became one of the 14 states in federation," he said.
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He said the change resulted in Sarawak losing its powers since, and that his administration intended to reverse this now, even if it meant an amendment to restore Article 1 to its original form.Adenan also argued that the 1976 amendment is null and void because it breached the Malaysia Agreement, Inter-Governmental Committee Report, the Cobbold Commission Report, and related recommendations."We are a party to the Malaysia Agreement signed in 1963. When you are party to the agreement, you are equal in status," he said. Earlier in his speech, Adenan said that Sarawak is not a state within the federation, but one of the founding states of the federation.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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Perhaps, this was our mistake when we did not oppose when the amendment was made in 1976, but I did not want to put a blame on anyone, perhaps, they did not realise its legal implication then," he said.
